Lauren gathered her books together as class ended and rushed towards the door. The clock read 11:30 and she had to be at work at 11:40. If she hurried, she could make it on time. As she tried to make it through the crowd of students making their exit, she heard her name being called.

"Sam," Lauren groaned and turned to acknowledge him. "Yes?" she answered, smiling sweetly. She glanced at the clock again; she really didn't have time for this.

"Hey sweet thang," Sam greeted her after catching up with her, "Got a minute?"

Lauren didn't have a minute but she knew he wouldn't leave her alone until she listened to what he had to say. She shifted her weight from heel to heel, "I have to be at work in seven minutes so we're gonna have to walk and talk." Lauren didn't slow her pace any and they speed walked in silence until Sam spoke again.

"Lauren, I've been thinking about you lately," Sam began. Inwardly, Lauren groaned; she knew where this was going. "And the more I get to know you the more I like you. And I was wondering if you would like to go out sometime."

Lauren had known this was bound to happen sooner or later. Most guys usually ended up trying to "move their friendship to another level". The fact was, after Daniel there was no other man she wanted to be with. She gazed up at Sam who was studying her intently, searching her eyes for an answer.

"Sam," she began with a sigh, "I am flattered really. But I'm not looking for a boyfriend. There's some things in my life I need to settle in my life before I can even consider being in a relationship with someone else. And…" Lauren let her words die. She focused on the sidewalk; she could not bear to see the look of disappointment on his face. She didn't have to look though, because she heard it on his voice.

"Oh well, I understand. But I'm not just gonna give up and walk way. I'm gonna wait," Sam said with sadness and determination filling his voice. They had reached the Starbucks that Lauren worked at so she turned to face Sam.

"You're a great guy Sam. I'd hate to see you waiting around for a mess like me." She squeezed his hand and walked into the story, leaving Sam confused. He wanted to reach out and help her, love her, heal her hurts, but he didn't know how.

----

Brianna was about to open her car door when a car swung into the parking space beside her. Brianna cursed under her breath as she got out of her car, ready to give the other driver a piece of her mind. As she neared the driver's window, she recognized the chestnut brown hair with its natural highlights. "Amanda," Brianna breathed. Her friend needed her. Badly. Brianna rapped on the door window. Amanda raised her head from her hands, making a failed attempt to smile and opened the passenger's side door and motioned for Brianna to come join her. Brianna crossed to the other side quickly and got in the car. She turned towards Amanda, who tried to dry her tears and gain control of her motions. Brianna already what the cause was. Eric.

"I don't know why you are still so upset about Eric," Brianna began, "He was the jerk that cheated on you. You deserved better." When Eric had dumped Amanda, she was so overcome with emotion she couldn't speak. Her friends had assumed that he had played "the lying cheating bastard" role and she didn't have the heart to set them straight. Setting them straight would involve telling the whole story which would involve telling them that she kissed her best friend's boyfriend. No she couldn't tell, Amanda reasoned, or at least she couldn't tell Eva. After a small mental battle, Amanda sighed and began her confession; at least one person had to know the truth.

"Bri," Amanda began, if there was a God she prayed for all the courage He (or She) could spare at the moment, "Eric didn't cheat on me."

"He didn't?" Brianna gasped, "But you said…"

"I never said anything," Amanda cut her off, a little bit too defensively, "Ya'll assumed and I never set ya'll straight. But what I am about to tell you, you cannot tell anybody else." Amanda sighed again as she continued with her confession, "Eric broke up with me because he caught me kissing somebody else." Brianna's eyes widened slightly at the thought of Amanda cheating on her precious Eric but she could not understand why Amanda insisted on keeping it such a big secret.

"Ok? So you kissed another guy, so why is it such a secret?" Brianna asked.

"Amanda sighed again, "I kissed Brian." This time time, Brianna gasped.

"Eva's Brian?" she asked, hoping that it wasn't the Brian she was talking about. Amanda nodded, tears filling her eyes.

"He came to me. To talk. He was paranoid because Eva was about to dump him. So when he was leaving, I gave him a hug and next thing I knew, we were kissing. And Eric walked in on us." Amanda stopped to wipe the tears from my eyes. "He left. He never asked for an explanation. He never answers my calls. And I call him a couple times everyday. Well today, I called him and a girl picked up. His new girlfriend. Apparently, he had gone to her when he had seen me and Brian. To talk."

"Basically, she caught him on his rebound." Brianna bluntly commented. "Doesn't mean he doesn't love you. Maybe he wants you to feel the hurt that you made him feel. So what happened with Brian?"

"Well, I'm ashamed to admit, there was something in that kiss. He must've felt it too because he keeps calling. But I just don't see myself being with anyone but Eric. "

"Hm. Well Eric needs time probably, it'll be okay. I promise." Brianna says, reaching over to hug Amanda. Amanda sniffled again, her emotions had subsided now that she finally had somebody to talk to about her problem. "Now," Brianna perked up, changing subjects, "shall we go to Panelli's? I'm starved." Together they got out of the car, and hooked arms, walking and laughing into the restaurant.

-----

"3 hours and 30 more minutes," Laura muttered to herself. She groaned, she had only been at work one hour but it had felt like an eternity. She heard the door jingle and turned around to wait on the customer. The customer was her mother.

"We have to talk," she said. Laura knew this wasn't good. She walked to the door and changed the sign to "Closed".